Edinburgh unveils 'more durable' cycle hire scheme

Swedish tech firm Voi will operate the cycle hire scheme in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Council says it has learned lessons from the city's previous cycle hire network after announcing a new operator for the revived scheme.

Swedish tech firm Voi will run an initial bike hire trial in the city centre from 3 September, with hopes it could put 800 cycles on the streets in the future.

It comes four years after a previous contractor pulled their bikes from the city due to issues with vandalism and running costs.

The council's transport convener, Stephen Jenkinson, said technology around similar schemes had "significantly improved".

Voi already runs bike hire schemes in cities including Barcelona, Munich, Vienna and London.

A total of 50 electric motor-assisted bikes will be rolled out in the city centre during the trial period early next month.

The previous Serco network, which was sponsored by food delivery service Just Eat, ran between 2018 and 2021.

It operated on a "docked" model, meaning users would have to collect the bikes from one of several charging stations around the city.

However, the Voi version operates a "dockless" rental scheme – allowing the bikes to be left and picked up anywhere.

Riders locate their nearest bike with the Voi app and then scan a QR code on the frame to unlock them.

They can then be left anywhere to be picked up by the next user.

Voi already runs similar cycle hire schemes in several major UK and European cities

The last scheme was meant to run at no cost to the council, but ended up costing £1.8m.

However, Jenkinson said he did not expect similar issues this time.

He said: "It's fair to say that the last scheme wasn't successful and it did actually cost quite a lot of money in the end.

"The technology has significantly improved, but I think people's perceptions of schemes have changed over the years as well. They are commonplace in cities across, not only the UK, but in Europe.

"So I think it's important that we offer choice to residents and visitors as they move through the city."

'Less prone to vandalism'

Cllr Jenkinson said he expected the bikes to be used predominantly by visitors to the city during the initial trial period.

But he expected commuters to be "heavy users" between other public transport links once locals "buy in".

Since the previous scheme ended, Edinburgh was the largest European capital without a cycle hire network.

In 2020, one in four of the Just Eat bikes had to be repaired every week due to damage caused by vandalism.

Docking stations were damaged, bikes were set alight and some had to be pulled from the Water of Leith.

The bikes can be picked up anywhere in the city and are unlocked using a QR code

James Bolton, general manager at Voi UK, said their bikes were "more durable" and better able to stand up to intentional damage.

He said: "All of our bikes have geolocation on them, so we know where they are at all times.

"The bikes themselves are a lot more durable and less prone to vandalism.

"We've been operating these bikes in Liverpool, London, Cambridge and Oxford, and we've never had substantial problems with that at all."